With a newborn baby and a toddler occupying her days, Meghan was uncertain about becoming a mentor. What happened surprised her.
Initially I felt very underqualified to be an Ergon mentor. I’ve been away from full-time work by choice for a couple years (I’m currently a stay-at-home mom and do freelance writing and editing on the side), and besides this I am still early in my career and younger than the person I was assigned to mentor. However, it became clear in my first conversation with my mentee that not only do I have professional skills to offer, but what is most important is for people to know they are accompanied.
In fact, talking to my mentee about her resumé and helping her uncover her skills has helped me better understand my own skills and experience. In accompanying each other, we help each other discover what we have to offer professionally, and we naturally start to learn about the other parts of our lives. To know that neither of us are alone allows us both to be free and eager in front of the tasks at hand.
As I mentioned, I am primarily a stay-at-home-mom, and I just gave birth to our second child about six weeks ago--meaning I now have two children under age two. Most of my energy and attention is dedicated to diapers, feeding schedules, nap wars, and making sure I get enough rest for myself to function. It would be easy to say I don’t have energy or attention for anything else. But I have discovered that the work of Ergon is a good for me too.
The small amount of time I spend working with my mentee actually gives me a new energy in front of my vocation as a mother. This opportunity to engage my “professional self” is not just a break from my responsibilities with my family; instead, talking about these other parts of life that interest me with my mentee gives me new energy and joy to face my kids. I don’t consider the time I spend with my mentee an extra responsibility that pulls me away from my family. The time spent learning about myself actually helps me be more present to my family.
This work has awakened a desire in me. I feel more alive and free when in front of these efforts.
Meghan, Nashville, Tennessee